Barriers impeding checks on banned EBT buys

By Andy Metzger, State House News Service

Updated:
03/01/2013 08:34:38 AM EST

FITCHBURG -- Technological barriers remain for the Department of Transitional Assistance in trying to limit the products that can be purchased with electronic public-assistance benefits, according to a top state official.

The DTA has been embarrassed by recent disclosures of overpayments and out-of-date address data, prompting the Legislature to seek better controls on electronic benefits transfer cards.

The department still does not have the technological capability to ensure that EBT cards are not used to purchase items prohibited by a July 2012 law, including tobacco, pornography and vacation services, said Health and Human Services Secretary John Polanowicz.

In Thursday's budget hearing at the Olympia Dukakis Performing Arts Center, Polanowicz said he had mandated that DTA Commissioner Stacey Monahan "ensure those benefits are available for only those who are truly eligible," and to block EBT payments at "prohibited establishments," which include liquor stores, casinos and strip clubs under the law.

"The technology that we're using with Xerox allows us to block usage by the store. It does not, at least currently, have the ability to block individual purchases at the store level," Polanowicz said. He said, "As the technology continues to change with the vendor, we will do everything we can to ensure that we continue to address the issue.

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Health and Human Services Communications Director Alec Loftus said no such system exists in the country, meaning each retailer would have to set up their own system, and he said store owners had been advised on the law's restrictions.

When Gov. Deval Patrick signed the EBT-reform law last summer, he acknowledged the technological shortfall as well.

"I sign this bill with the understanding and on due notice that this administration will not enforce what cannot be enforced with respect to the use of EBT cards," Patrick wrote to the Legislature.

Rep. Geoff Diehl, R -Whitman, asked Polanowicz about what role DTA played in coordinating database record-keeping with other state agencies in a "collective effort to try to get the state on the same page."

"At least for right now, you're absolutely correct, many of those systems do not speak to each other," Polanowicz replied.

He said DTA is helping build an "integrated eligibility system," which is starting with MassHealth and will then move to DTA.

Polanowicz is seeking an additional $4 million for EBT reform efforts in the 2014 budget.

Patrick is seeking a total of $790 million for the department in fiscal 2014, an increase of $17 million from the $773 million projected fiscal 2013 spending.

Earlier this year, DTA investigated roughly 7,700 individuals receiving benefits for whom the DTA did not have up-to-date address information.

Later, the Inspector General's Office found errors and eligibility concerns costing taxpayers about $25 million per year, and the Patrick administration received a letter from the federal government indicating it had overpaid food stamp recipients by nearly $28 million.

Polanowicz credited the Great Recession's job loss and increased demand for welfare benefits, combined with staffing cuts at DTA, as playing a role in the agency's performance.

"They made it very easy for people to move onto the system," said Diehl. "Was there some sort of incentive for that department to try to enroll as many people as possible?"

Polanowicz said the increase in food stamps benefits, or the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, had more to do with the economy.

"To my knowledge, representative, there was no incentive," said Polanowicz. "I think if you go back to two years ago when we were in the heights of the recession and our jobless rate was not where it is today -- which frankly is about 2 points better than the national average -- we were seeing $70 million a month of increased requests from federal funding for SNAP benefits.

"At the same time, the Department of Transitional Assistance had, because of the cuts in the government, you had fewer and fewer case workers," Polanowicz said. "So at the same time we had this rapid influx of request and demand ... we had fewer and fewer staff."

Asked at a recent budget hearing whether a staffing shortage was to blame for the problems at DTA, Inspector General Glenn Cuhna said, "Some of it is a lack of staffing, a lack of resources...but it's also a lack of training too."

On Thursday, Polanowicz said DTA is increasing training and education "so that we can have much more consistency around the Commonwealth."

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